Voters in north Wales debate whether we need less or more devolution.
Just weeks from a fresh announcement on further powers for Wales, and it is clear that these announcements haven’t settled the devolution debate for good. The stable devolution settlement which has been promised seems elusive, at least to the political parties battling over further powers.
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IWA constitutional convention This week sees the last of our discussions for the IWA Constitutional Convention and we’re finishing the discussion with an online debate this Friday at 1pm, where we will be asking ‘Has devolution worked?’. We want as many people as possible to be part of this discussion. To take part in the live discussion please visit iwaconvention.co.uk on Friday the 20th March at 1pm. If you can’t make the discussion at this time, just visit the site later to add your thoughts. You can also catch up with the discussion on twitter at #IWAConvention. |
But is this endless discussion about powers really what matters to voters? As part of the IWA’s Constitutional Convention we asked people in north Wales whether they thought we’d had enough devolution, too much or needed less. And is a lack of powers really the basis of our problems? We asked voters for their views on what is holding Wales back. You can hear both of these podcasts below.
There is one huge issue that makes Wales stand apart from the other devolved home nations and that’s the Welsh language.
In their wisdom Welsh Labour politicians with nationalist leanings together with Plaid Cymru have decided that Welsh language is the national language of Wales and the language imposition became the central focus of Welsh devolution without any transparent debate or consultation process with Welsh people.
Social Engineering by the state should never be accepted and we must have a high profile and open debate on the implications of creating a privileged classes based on language and a culture of a minority.
Take heed from what one of the Welsh greats (Gwyn Thomas) had to say on this issue some 30 years ago: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cbCHwvCp8GI
Unfortunately we never got transparency
Very valid points made in the interviews, with a sense of a lack of confidence that Wales has the size or the leadership to be separated from England. It aligns with comments that I have heard on numerous other occasions, including by relatives with strong Welsh independence views. Clearly this is a major challenge to the Welsh political class and civil society, who need to work harder at convincing the Welsh electorate otherwise. If they aren’t able or willing to face up to this challenge then you would have to wonder whether the perceptions are, in fact, reality.
Jacques Protic is so right. The Welsh language has brought Wales to its knees. Devolution has allowed minorities too much influence. People across Wales from Nefyn to Newport are forcing poor incomers to adopt the language or be pariahs. I fear that my grandaughter will grow up in a region of the UK that has abandoned the English language, all through the misguided policies of the Cymraeg-obsessed Labour Party. Everybody I know now agrees that devolution must end immediately, and we have to return to common sense rule through the House of Commons.
Jacques and Stephanie are correct. Go anywhere on this earth and mention Wales and people immediately say to you that the Welsh language only exists because of social engineering. Could the Welsh Government legislate to make it illegal to use it in a public place? That should raise our GDP.
Stephanie Brown is living in another country or in world of her own. The devolved Welsh government is less afraid of the Welsh-speaking minority thanWestminster was. Can anyone imagine Cardiff Bay creating S4C if it wasn’t there already? No-one is forcing incomers to speak Welsh and the notion that you are a pariah in Newport if you don’t speak Welsh is ridiculous. Most inhabitants of Newport couldn’t tell Welsh from Urdu if they heard it in the street – despite alleged compulsory Welsh in schools. Wales abandoning English? This correspondent is either engaging in satire or has a view so divorced from reality I’d be seriously concerned for her.
R Tredwyn A bit dishonest or perhaps delusional? See: http://www.walesonline.co.uk/news/wales-news/new-welsh-language-standards-heralds-8913182 100% unity in the Assembly and no proper debate This is no longer a joke as the measures are destructive and damaging to Wales. See what I said on http://www.glasnost.org.uk/blog/ – All 100% factual and evidence based!